What are people's thoughts on Chris Davis? This guy is tearing up AA/AAA at age 22. At what point does he force Texas' hand? I mean with Ramon Vazquez at 3rd and Catalanotto/Shelton at 1st right now, it seems like there is enough room for both Davis and Blalock when he returns.

1st I've heard about Davis, but it sure sounds like he could get called up. From CBS Sportsline;

Rangers 1B/3B prospect Chris Davis is hitting just .233 (7-for-30) in nine games for Triple-A Oklahoma since his promotion from Double-A Frisco. However, it hasn't been all bad for Davis. He does have two homers and 10 RBI.(Updated 06/03/2008).Fantasy AnalysisDavis hit .333 with 43 runs, 14 doubles, 13 homers and 42 RBI in 46 games for Frisco. The promotion means Davis could be on the verge of getting called to the majors. He has great power and playing in the Ballpark at Arlington certainly would fit a slugger like Davis. He remains a solid long-term keeper and AL-only stashee at this time.

Chris Davis certainly has the power but the biggest bug a boo for him will be to overcome the poor plate discipline/coverage. If you look at his MILB ABs and divide them by 525 you will see he is averaging 40BB and 145Ks. Maybe a poor man's Adam Dunn when he comes up. Someone to keep an eye on if you need the extra HR but can take the hit in avg.....as it will likely be hard for him to keep a solid avg in the majors with that poor of a BB/K ratio. (274 Ks in 260 games)

J35J wrote:Chris Davis certainly has the power but the biggest bug a boo for him will be to overcome the poor plate discipline/coverage. If you look at his MILB ABs and divide them by 525 you will see he is averaging 40BB and 145Ks. Maybe a poor man's Adam Dunn when he comes up. Someone to keep an eye on if you need the extra HR but can take the hit in avg.....as it will likely be hard for him to keep a solid avg in the majors with that poor of a BB/K ratio. (274 Ks in 260 games)

Definitely a good point about the unsustainable average, but he has made moderate strides this year with a 21/65 BB/K as opposed to last year's 35/150 while incorporating in a jump in level. He has 7 HRs in his last 10 games, and it seems like there is not a whole lot of talent blocking him. He should force the Rangers to call him up if he keeps up this ridiculous pace for a bit longer.

Matt Laporta should be the next called up. He is tearing up AAA. The only problem is Milwaukie would need to make room for him. SHould happen as the Cubs distance themselves in the NL central. Per CBS they anticipate a call up in Mid-July

etraum wrote:Matt Laporta should be the next called up. He is tearing up AAA. The only problem is Milwaukie would need to make room for him. SHould happen as the Cubs distance themselves in the NL central. Per CBS they anticipate a call up in Mid-July

If you didn't notice the Brewers are gaining ground not losing it. They are now 1.5 games out of the wild card lead. With Zambrano, Pujols, Soriano injured, Marmol showing his true colors with his control etc this is a team that is going to be on the edge of the playoff picture for most of the year.

I don't really see LaPorta getting a spot without an injury to open it up though.

The Brewers have a couple of real nice prospects, but unfortunatly, it would be hard to find them any AB's. Does it really make much sense to take AB's away from Prince, Hart or Braun (the Brewers 3 most productive hitters) to find time for LaPorta? Gamel WOULD have an easy path to Milwaukee if he wansn't such a defensive liability right now. If the Brewers had wanted a below-average defensive thirdbaseman, they could have left Braun there, and opened up an OF spot for LaPorta/Gamel.

etraum wrote:Matt Laporta should be the next called up. He is tearing up AAA. The only problem is Milwaukie would need to make room for him. SHould happen as the Cubs distance themselves in the NL central. Per CBS they anticipate a call up in Mid-July

it's AA not AAA and for that reason, and the fact he isn't on the 40 man roster and they have no position for him leads me to believe a september call up is the only way laporta will see milw in 08

Chris Davis, at the extreme, has Ryan Howard-like upside, but Howard could at least take walks in the minor leagues whereas Davis hasn't done so regularly. If he's called up, I think he winds up as a 1B/DH type, as Davis' defense at third has historically just been OK at best. I'd say he winds up as a Carlos Pena type, but the silver lining is he's made strides in improving his walk rate a bit.